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Buffalo/Bison-lower in cholestrol, fat and calories than chicken or beef!

I fell in love with Buffalo on a trip to Montana; and hope you will too. My friends served Buffalo in many forms-roast, sausages etc.. and they were the most flavorful I had ever tasted without any hormones or additives that I avoid. I was delighted to find it sold at Whole Foods and some local grocery meat counters.What I learned later was that is has so many nutritional benefits. It is much lower in fat, calories and cholesterol and higher in protein, iron and vitamin B12 than chicken and beef! See chart below.

After my neurobiology class in 2005, I decided to never eat beef again…and I have not missed it to date. I was so excited to find Buffalo as a healthy alternative and quickly began testing all my favorite recipes that traditionally used beef. To my surprise, they were even better with Buffalo!My cookbook, No Wheat No Dairy No Problem, has many recipes for buffalo including: Bourguignon, Chili, Meatloaf, Moussaka, Swedish Meatballs and Stroganoff(this weeks recipe of the week). I also am an animal lover and am concerned about making environmentally friendly and humane choices in my food.

Buffalo/Bison are free range and graze on the green grassy hills.They are native to Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas-and raised in Minnesota too. They were almost extinct, but are making a comeback thanks to ranchers and an increased demand. So, the more we eat the more we will support their proliferation.

I was happy to learn that Billionaire, Ted Turner owns 15 ranches in seven states, covering 1.9 million acres. That’s 3,000 square miles – bigger than Delaware or Rhode Island. They are to make money, to protect the environment and to promote the conservation of native species. The ranches have diverse revenue sources. The most visible is the sale of buffalo meat. Much of it is sold through Ted’s Montana Grill, a fast-growing chain of about 50 casual restaurants, the newest of which just opened in midtown Manhattan. (Turner oversees the restaurants with a partner, George McKerrow.) I will definitely be making a reservation for my next NY trip, how about you?! To learn more about his ranches go to his website or watch a rerun of Martha Stewart who dedicated a whole show to Buffalo/Bison and a visit with Ted Turner on one of his ranches. Read an article by Fortune magazine at

Buffalo is also called Bison can be used interchangeably with beef in most recipes, so enjoy all your favorite dishes made healthier – buffalo chili, buffalo lasagna, buffalo stew – the list is endless.

Cooking Buffalo: See below along with internet searches with many sites including utube videos with Buffalo/Bison recipes.

Crock Pot Cooking
Very slow, moist heat works especially well with the less tender cuts of meat. The best way is a crock pot or slow cooker. Let this cook all day. With the slow moist cooking you won’t have to worry about drying out the meat with overcooking. Use the low setting on your crock pot.

Grilling
Don’t put bison on the flame! We have found the best grilling technique is the indirect method. If you have a dual control gas grill, heat the one side on high for 5 to 10 minutes, then reduce to medium-high. Place the steak or roast on the cool side. In colder temperatures, you may want to have the heat on low under the meat. For a single control grill cover one side with foil to lock out the direct heat. Use a meat thermometer for roasts and go by appearance when grilling steaks.

Roasts
The best oven temperature is a 275 degree oven. Preheat your oven. To insure the desired doneness, use a meat thermometer. Because bison cooks more quickly you may want to check it sooner than you would beef. Rib steaks, roasts, tenderloin, and sirloin roasts are suitable cuts for roasting.